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The Least Likely Suspect by Bradygirl Part 3 Mike stood with his hands on the counter holding his arms straight out and leaning towards the nurses station with his entire upper torso. Nurses ambled in and out of the corridor grabbing silver medical charts and replacing them with others. None of the medical personnel made notice of Mike's unusual behavior. None of them knew the heartbreaking phone call he was about to make. None of them knew how hard it was to tell one of your best friends that they had just lost their unborn child. In one swift sudden motion, Mike slammed his fist down on the counter as hard as he could. The sound echoed throughout the first floor. Nurses, interns and orderlies momentarily stopped and stared at him, but Mike didn't pay attention to them. He couldn't. All he could think of was this phone call, and how hard it was going to be. As he lifted the receiver from its cradle, he realized something. He couldn't tell Bo this way. He couldn't tell him this over the phone. He had to do it in person. It was the only way. The phone at Alice Horton's house rang a high-pitched screech. Alice jumped a little at the unexpected noise. She was up to her elbows in flour and didn't want to track the white powdery substance all over her newly swept kitchen floor. "Shawn D.," she called out. "Could you get that, dear?" "Sure thing, Grandma," he yelled back. Shawn D. ran to the phone in the foyer and grabbed it on the third ring. "Hello," he said, some what out of breath. "Shawn D.? Is your dad around?" Mike drummed his fingers on the formica surface in a repetitive motion as he waited for his answer. "Oh, hi, Mike. No, dad's not here. I don't know where he is." Shawn D. reached over and behind a plant for the note pad hiding just out of sight. He jotted a quick note to his father. "I'll tell him you called though." "You do that, sport." Mike tried to smile as he said it but it was hard to be optimistic when you had news like this. He hung up the phone and replaced it gently on its cradle. He was about to call the police station when a figure appeared beside him. "What's wrong there, Mike? You look like you just lost your best friend or something." Mike jumped and sharply inhaled at the sudden and unexpected sound from over his shoulder. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw who it was. "Easy there- you might want to let up on the caffeine next time. Try decaf." Mike smiled. "Yeah, I'll do that." Mike gave Bo an intense gaze that wasn't lost on the detective. "Bo, I'm glad you're here." "Is there something wrong? You sound serious. What's up?" Bo unzipped his worn-out black leather jacket and leaned on the nurses station counter. Mike glanced at Bo's black boots as he carefully chose his words. "It's Billie-" Before he could go into any further detail, the emergency room doors flew open. Hope followed a crash cart into the main open area of the ER. She watched as the paramedics worked on the man on the gurney. "Oh, my God- Hope, are you all right?"asked Mike as he and Bo rushed over to where Hope stood on the other side of the room. "It's not me," said Hope. "But you're bleeding. Let me look at that-" Hope slapped Mike's hands as he wiped at the blood on her forehead. "It's not me, Mike. It's him. Help him!" She pointed to the man on the gurney. Mike noticed something familiar about the man. He didn't know if it was his rumpled brown business suit or the dusty wing tips, but something was triggering his memory. The ER doors opened again but Mike didn't feel the cold air rush in. He was too focused on Hope and the mystery man. Dr. Harry Harris had appeared on the scene only seconds after Mike and Bo. While Mike had been helping his cousin, Harry had taken action on the patient. Dr. Harris was now standing over the body talking to the paramedics and blocking Mike's view of the mystery man. He couldn't see who was on the cart from where he stood, but since Hope seemed pretty broken up about it. It must be someone they all knew. He wondered who it was. Mike walked up behind Harry, put a hand on his friend's shoulder and offered his help. When Harry turned to face him, the identity of the man was no longer a mystery. It was Austin. "I've got this one, Mike," said Harry jotting down notations on a clipboard. Mike stood there in shock as Dr. Harris followed the nurses who wheeled Austin into one of the work rooms. A nurse pulled a teal green curtain around hiding Austin from their view. Mike stood rooted to the spot, staring at the teal green curtain and noting the strange folds in the material. Hope appeared behind him. "Mike, snap out of it," she ordered, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "I have to tell, Carrie," he said slowly. "No, Mike. I'll tell Carrie." Hope walked over to the nurses station and picked up the phone. Before she dialed, she motioned for Bo to come closer with an extended index finger. Bo didn't speak but only raised his eyebrows in a silent question. "Get him to take a break." Bo nodded. "I think he's in shock," he whispered. "Maybe I should have him lie down in the doctor's break room." Hope nodded back at him in response and then dialed Carrie's cell phone number. Hope couldn't reach Carrie, so she joined Mike and Bo in the darkened break room. A single shaft of light beamed through the door providing the only illumination to the room. Hope gazed down at her cousin lying on the bottom bunk. He had his arm over his eyes shielding them from the hallway light. "I don't know what's-" started Mike. Then paused and shook his head. "I don't know why I'm reacting this way. Austin and I have never been what I'd consider - close." Hope lightly smiled and sat down on the bed next to him. She held her hand on the upper bunk to steady herself. "I know why," said Hope. Mike looked up at her with questions in his eyes. Questions without answers. "When Austin came in, you immediately thought of Carrie and the possibility that maybe she was with him when he was hurt." "Was she?" asked Mike raising up on one elbow. "No, she wasn't. I was with him. But you couldn't get the picture of her being seriously injured out of your mind. Mike, Carrie wasn't even with us when this happened." "She wasn't?" Hope shook her head then turned and quickly glanced at Bo over her right shoulder. "So, see, partner. You really have nothing to worry about." Mike nodded but they could tell that he really didn't believe them. "We'll, see you later. Get some rest." Hope lightly pushed on Mike's chest until he was lying down again. "Okay, Dr. Hope. I'll try and get some rest." He smiled a reassuring smile. "I promise. Boy Scouts honor." Only when Mike closed his eyes, did Bo and Hope leave. She looked at her cousin through the tiny window. "This is so hard on him. He's tying to be strong. He's trying so hard to keep his feelings about Carrie inside that it's becoming more obvious every day." Hope frowned at the thought of how unhappy her cousin was. "What are you saying," asked Bo. "Mike likes Carrie?" "Oh, Bo. It's more than that. While they were in L.A., Mike and Carrie got close. Really close. Closer than he's ever let himself get to a woman before. He opened his heart for the first time without fear. Austin was spending so much time with Sami and-" "Mike stepped in like only a good friend would?" added Bo. "Right, only he got more than he bargained for." "You're not saying he's in love with her, are you?" Bo ran his hand though his thick black mane. "That's exactly what I'm saying. And Carrie doesn't know. He doesn't want her to know." Hope walked to the nurses station and picked up the phone once more. She prayed that this time, Carrie was home. ___________ Carrie couldn't get Hope's words out of her mind. They'd had a brief conversation about Austin. But even though Austin was the one in the hospital, her mind couldn't help but drift to Mike. She fingered the copper scarf around her neck. The one Mike had given her in Rome. "If you wouldn't mind, could you check in on Mike after you see Austin?" asked Hope. "I don't think the shock has quite worn off yet. When Austin came in the emergency room, Mike automatically assumed you were the one with him. I tried to convince him otherwise, but I don't think he believed me." Was Mike worried about me as a friend, thought Carrie. Or as more than that? Was she really the married woman he was in love with? Carrie grabbed her coat. She had to know. She had to know if Mike loved her. What if it was true, she wondered. What would she do then? Carrie didn't know the answer, but what she did know, was that she couldn't rest until she knew the truth. __________ Ali McIntyre slipped into the medical supply room where University Hospital kept a majority of their drug supply. She eyed the key in her hand. She always knew this key would come in handy one day. Lady luck had been smiling down on her the day she found it. Well, found wasn't exactly the right word. Obtained was a better choice. Lady luck had been smiling on her the day she obtained the key. So far, the head of the maitenance crew hadn't missed it. She wondered if he ever would. Ali looked around the room searching for the shelves for a specific drug. "Ah, there you are," she said, as she gently placed the drug on a tray and then grabbed a hypodermic needle from a nearby box. So far everything was working perfectly. _________ Carrie looked in on Austin but Harry told her he'd probably be sedated most of the night. She decided to come back and see her husband in the morning. As she walked down the hall to the doctor's break room, she wondered how she could find out Mike's true feelings for her. How could she do it without actually coming out and saying the words? The room where Mike lay sleeping was dimly lit. The hustle and bustle of the hospital went unnoticed in the virtually sound proof room. Mike had once told her he had even gotten a halfway decent nights sleep here before. She smiled at the memory. As she gazed at Mike's sleeping form, she lightly touched his face, entranced by his features. Her finger, as if with a mind of its own, lightly brushed his jaw line and was about to move to his lips when she suddenly pulled her hand away. What was she doing? She was in love with Austin. Carrie composed herself and gently shook Mike. "Mike," Carrie whispered. "Mike, it's Carrie. Wake up, sleepyhead." She leaned her face down to whisper a little louder when Mike's eyes fluttered ever so lightly. He looked at her as if in a dream-like state. "Carrie," he whispered in a husky voice. It was a single breathless whisper, but it said volumes. Mike caressed Carrie's cheek with one hand and then the other. He slowly brought her face down to his and kissed her softly on the lips. A bolt of energy surged through Carrie's body. She never expected to react this way to Mike. Before she knew it, she was giving into his affections. He kissed her with more passion than she'd ever known before. Just as quickly as it had started, it was over. Mike laid down and turned over to face the wall. He was asleep. He had kissed her in his sleep. He didn't know what he was doing. Or did he? The kiss stirred a memory at the back of her mind. An image of her and Mike on the cabin floor flashed in her mind. "Oh, my God." Carrie brought her hand to her mouth. "At the cabin- that kiss- it wasn't Austin. It was Mike!" top to Part 4 Copyright © 1998, w3PG, inc.